He's Late
by Broken Locket
Summary: ONESHOT. Jem loves fluffernutters, but they get in the way of schedules. Jessa, Birthday fic for HawkRider


**He's late - An Infernal Devices Fanfic**

**Genre: General/Humour  
**

**Rating: K**

**Authoress: Loki**

**Notes: **This is a ridiculously late birthday fic for HawkRider, so I apologize for that and for anyone that follows me, I'm changing my name to as close to 'VermillionSerpent' as I can get :) So~ Enjoy!

_**Disclaimer:**_I own no characters in this story, except the little fluffs.

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It was a satisfyingly saddening relief that settled relentlessly over Tessa's mind as she turned the final page of a book and read the last sentences. A sense of silence flooded across her mind as she closed the book for the last time, like the empty silence that filled a room after the television or radio had been switched off. It was saddening to think that her adventures with these characters had come to an end, but a relief that she finally knew and understood everything there was to know about the characters.

It often fascinated Jem. He loved to watch her as she grew more and more engrossed in a book – embarking on wondrous adventures and heart-breaking relationships with the people on the pages; fingers poised at the edge of the page, eagerly waiting to turn it and discover more. It often reminded him of Will. She had the same passion for books as he did and he liked to think that because of this, they were linked somehow. His parabatai stood beside him with Tessa.

Jem, however, was not here on this occasion. He was late. Tessa glanced across at the cuckoo clock dangling above the television, (a gift from Magnus – bought during his trip to the Schwarzwald in Germany - which was so delightfully detailed, yet ridiculously over exaggerated and misplaced amongst the modern décor, that she simply adored it) noting the carved wooden hands. They read 5.15. Jem was normally home by five o'clock and he was never late. She placed the book down and turned to look out of the window, rather than at the clock. There were many things that could have kept Jem behind schedule. The traffic in London was dreadful at this time, or a train could be late, or he could have been asked to stay behind at work. Since Jem had forgotten about his mobile phone again – a habit he was attempting to break – she couldn't contact him. She knew it would seem silly to him, but a faint flutter of worry still tickled her heart.

Her fingers danced nervously with the pale gold charm at the end of the necklace she wore. She stood and moved across to the window quietly and peered out to the roaring street below. Cars lined the streets and blared their horns, rushing about and disrupting the quiet air. Tessa sighed. Of course Jem would come back.

She jumped and whirled quickly to the sound of the catch on the door, the jingle of keys and the blast of noise before it was shut out again when the door was closed. She smiled warmly and walked to the door, hearing the familiarly soft voice of her beloved James calling, "I'm home!"

She frowned. She heard his footsteps running up the stairs and into their bedroom. "James?" she asked, quickly climbing up after him. "Jem, are you alright?" she asked again, reaching the top of the stairs.

"I'm fine, Tessa, I'll be down in a moment." he assured, his voice breathless and his feet shuffling along the floor as he struggled with something. Instinctually Tessa thought '_demon'_, but her conscience assured her that Jem would never bring anything dangerous to her. She pursed her lips and pushed open the bedroom door.

She saw Jem's coat thrown hastily across her vision and onto the bed, then Jem himself stood in front of it, jittering.

"James, what is going on?" she questioned, her eyes narrowed and head tilted to watch his coat. Jem began to stutter and her eyes found his focusing on the ground. His slim fingers fumbled with one and other and his coal black hair was dishevelled and windswept, the flecks of silver looking like frost atop his head.

"I-I was just.. I needed to… I saw the-" the coat moved and Tessa lunged forward. She grabbed the coat before Jem could turn to stop her and she gasped.

Four tiny fluffballs snuggled together on their bed and Tessa's entire body relaxed. Beside her, Jem tensed and sighed. "I… should have talked about it first… but they looked so tiny… so cold, I just had to help them." Tessa smiled and shook her head.

"Oh Jem, you silly thing…" She gently lifted one of the tiny kittens and stroked the soft and fluffy fur between its ears. It mewled and purred in delight. "Of course we can keep them."

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**Word Count: **735


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